Spanning the Globe...

... to bring you the Wide World of Golf.  The thrill of victory, yada, yada, yada...

Distaff Doings - As I've previously confessed, I have a soft spot for the ladies Tour, which seems to be recovering nicely from the Carolyn Bivens self-immolation:

The LPGA announced its 2015 schedule at the season-ending CME Group Tour

Championship in Naples, Fla. Next year’s schedule will include 33 events, an increase of more than $4 million in prize money and more than 410 hours of television coverage. 

“I’m excited that our team has achieved our target number of events to fill our schedule over the past few years,” said LPGA commissioner Mike Whan. “We are focused on elevating and enhancing the playing opportunities for our players, viewing experiences for our fans and corporate involvement for our partners.”

All-Nippon Airlines has stepped in as the sponsor of the event formerly known as the Kraft Nabisco, though most of us still refer to it as the Dinah Shore.  Good news as Mike Whan has proved to be a good steward for their tour, and they're blessed with an attractive cast of good young players, a few of whom are even American.

And from this it appears that I'm not the only one watching:

In Golf Datatech's most recent study of serious golfers (16-plus rounds played per year), the LPGA rated the second-most-watched pro golf tour, passing the Champions Tour for the first time since spring 2010.

And do you know how to boost that further?  More Lydia...

The Sheep Ranch - Alan Bastable files this report about this mysterious golf course, loosely defined, next door to Bandon Dunes Resort:

Is that enough club to reach Hawaii?

Ah, the mysterious Sheep Ranch. Twelve years after its low-wattage debut, the seemingly half-finished layout with 13 greens on a raw, rolling plot not quite roomy enough for 18 holes remains one of the game’s buried treasures. How? Why? There are at least five reasons, and probably more. First, let’s just say you won’t find Sheep Ranch tee times on GolfNow. The course intentionally maintains a J.D. Salinger-like profile, relying on word of mouth to fill its one-or-two-groups-per-day tee sheet. Interested? Call Bandon Golf Supply, a golf retail shop in town. They’ll connect you with caretaker Greg Harless, who, assuming your desired date is available, will pencil you in.

It's wild and whacky and something the bride and I must do on our next Hadj to this golf Mecca.  Do give this a read if only to see the scorecard.

Koepka's Komplishment -  My golf predictions are notoriously off the mark, so forgive a short victory lap.  At the strat of the year I pointed to Victor Dubuisson and Brooks Koepka as my picks for breakout stars, so how about a quick round of applause for Koepka's win last week in Turkey?  OK, that was maybe a little too quick...

Alex Miceli celebrated this win by offering a solution to a problem that doesn't exist:

When Brooks Koepka talked about his goals after his Turkish Airlines Open victory, his

first career win on the European Tour, they consisted mainly of earning spots on the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup teams in 2015 and 2016. 

Koepka, one of four Americans who played in the Turkish Airlines Open, moved to No. 35 in the Official World Golf Ranking with the victory. However, neither Koepka nor his compatriots received points for their finishes in Turkey that could count toward next year’s Presidents Cup because the PGA Tour and PGA of America only allow points to be earned at overseas events that are majors or World Golf Championships.

So?  C'mon Alex, I know you needed a column but this is a stretch.  Yes a few Americans play the Euro Tour, but it's invariably young guys or retreads that don't have playing privileges for a good reason.   And there's these things called Captain's picks...

The Euro Beat - Poor Rory....so beaten down by preparations for testifying in his lawsuit with his former managers...that he's tied for the lead in Dubai.  But the Euros seem to enjoy themselves more than the Yanks, for reasons about which I'm not clear.  Submitted for your approval...

First, Rory posts on Twitter a shot of his workout regimen, so Justin Rose shows that he's no piker himself:

We like funny, especially the self-deprecating genre thereof.  And when in Dubai, do like the ....oh, whatever.  Here Rory, Justin and Henrik have good fun recreating each others' epic Race to Dubai (oxymoron alert) shots:

Yanno, these guys really are pretty good.

Year End Awards - Golf.com has put their year-end awards into a slideshow here, and who would have ever guessed Rory is their Player of the Year?  Didn't see that one coming, and shouldn't they have waited for the Father-Son and Skills Challenge?

Some cute stuff (see Horschel, Billy), as well as items sure to engender a nasty letter from Steiny.  I'll just give you one and let you explore on your own:

SHOT OF THE YEAR
Rory McIlroy's closing 5-iron on Saturday at the British Open Sometimes a single swing sends a resounding signal. Though it was only Saturday, Rory's flushed approach from 237 yards, to 11 feet from the pin, rang out like a rifle shot. It not only set up a closing eagle that stretched his lead to six with just 18 holes to play, it announced a new chapter in the Boy King's reign.

Quite the photo as well...

What a Game - We never tire of these stories, do we?  It's just a maddening, frustrating game that we love:

In the latest example of golf being, well, golf, John Hahn shot 78 at European Tour Q School. You may be saying, "so what?" and "who the heck is John Hahn?"

We remind you this is the same John Hahn who shot 58, yes, 58 the day before. To be fair, Hahn's higher score came on a different course (Stadium) at the PGA Catalunya Resort in Spain and it was unclear if preferred lies were in effect again, but still. Twenty shots?

Here's a screenshot of his technicolor scorecards:

I don't care if it's a putt-putt course, a 58 is just sick.

I'm out of time, but hope to be back later.